In the digital age we live in – with a plethora of communication channels – email customer service sometimes becomes an underachiever. But despite the rise of social media, live chat and AI chatbots, email remains an essential part of an effective omnichannel customer service strategy.

You may have already written off e-mail as a communication channel, but you need to reconsider that. E-mail is still a powerful tool for delivering customized customer service and offers unique advantages that other communication channels cannot provide.

In this blog, we dive deeper into the importance of email customer service and give you best practices and tips on how to improve your email communications to provide optimal and personalized service.

Why email still matters for customer service

According to a survey by Eptica Multichannel, in many cases e-mail remains the second choice of customers after telephone contact. We recently conducted a poll on Facebook, which underscores that. Again, telephone contact was preferred, but e-mail was listed as the second most popular channel.

Using e-mail customer service has several benefits for customers. For example, it does not require direct interaction with an agent, which is easy for some people. In addition, they can send an e-mail at any time and from any place. For agents, it also has an advantage: you can easily review history.

But: there are also some challenges. Although customers expect quick responses, companies often fail to respond within the expected time. According to Forrester, 41% of customers expect a response to their e-mail within six hours, but only 18% of companies deliver within this time. So it is essential that companies are able to respond quickly and effectively to customer emails to ensure their satisfaction and loyalty.

How to use email effectively in your customer contact strategy

Using email effectively in your customer contact strategy is essential for improving customer satisfaction and building long-term customer relationships. Here are some tips and best practices for using email in customer service:

Be quick

Customers expect quick responses. As mentioned earlier, 41% of customers expect a response to their e-mail within six hours. To meet this expectation, it is important to optimize your email management and ensure that your team can respond quickly to incoming customer inquiries.

Personalize your emails

Customers value personal interactions. Using the customer’s name in your e-mail and referencing previous interactions can help reinforce the feeling of personalized service.

Be clear and concise

Customers appreciate clear and concise answers. Avoid jargon and make sure your message is easy to understand. If a problem is complex, explain step by step how you will solve it.

Keep it professional

While it is important to be friendly and personable, it is also essential to remain professional. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct and use a formal but friendly tone.

Follow on

Follow up with customers after you answer their question to confirm that their issue has been resolved and to ask if they need further assistance. This shows that you care about their satisfaction.

Successful email strategies in customer service

Successful email strategies in customer service include integrating these best practices into an overall approach to customer service. A good example is using email templates to ensure consistency of communication, while still allowing you to personalize messages based on the customer’s specific needs and questions.

It is also valuable to invest in customer service software that makes it easier to track, categorize and respond to emails. These tools can help manage email workflow and improve response time, ultimately leading to better customer service.

The importance of integrating email into an omnichannel customer service strategy

Today, thanks to digital technologies, customers have more ways to connect with companies than ever before. These ways include social media, live chat, telephone support and e-mail. It is very important for companies to properly align and integrate these communication channels into a so-called omnichannel customer service strategy. E-mail is a crucial part of this.

Email may not be the most common channel for customer communication, but it can play an important role in the customer journey. For example, customers can send emails to report problems that cannot be resolved quickly via live chat or phone. In addition, e-mail customer service can be used to keep customers informed of the status of their problem and to schedule follow-up actions.

Integrating email into an omnichannel customer service strategy offers several advantages. By integrating email with other customer service channels, you can provide a consistent experience regardless of how customers choose to contact you.

You can also bring together customer data from various sources by integrating email into your customer service strategy. This can contribute to a better understanding of customer needs and behaviors, ultimately leading to improved customer service.

Using e-mail as part of an omnichannel customer service strategy can also help build and maintain customer relationships. By sending regular emails, you can keep a conversation going with customers, keep them informed of important updates and promotions and thus increase customer loyalty.

Summary

In this blog, we discussed how important email is as a customer service channel. It offers several advantages for both customers and employees, such as convenience, accessibility and a written history of interactions.However, there are also challenges, such as ensuring fast response times, which are essential for customer satisfaction.

We also shared some tips and best practices for effective email customer service. By personalizing emails and responding quickly to customer inquiries, you can improve your customer service and increase customer satisfaction.

Be sure to integrate email with your other contact channels. This is how you create a seamless experience, which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Getting started yourself?

Managing hundreds or thousands of emails a day can be quite a challenge – especially when you also offer other customer contact channels. That’s why we offer a solution to effectively manage and prioritize emails. Steam-connect distributes emails to the right agent and integrates it with your other contact channels. This way you can handle large volumes of emails, your response time is faster and you improve your customer satisfaction. After all, your agents always have all the important information at hand.

Are you ready to take your email customer service to the next level? Then request a demo of Steam-connect now and find out how we can help you improve your customer service.